In a continuing effort to improve the quality of fresh market and shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine and peach seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as `August Pearl`. The present variety was developed by us in 1993 in a cultivated area of our experimental orchard at Bradford Farms near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). It was a first generation cross using Red Glen (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,193) yellow flesh nectarine as the selected seed parent and `August Snow` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,947) white flesh nectarine as the selected pollen parent. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of Nemaguard Rootstock, the standard of the stone fruit industry in central California, upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The fruit produced by the present variety is most similar to its pollen parent, the `August Snow` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,947), by producing white flesh nectarines that are subacidic in flavor and harvest during August, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by producing fruit that ripens about twelve days later, that is sweeter in flavor, that is clingstone instead of freestone, and that does not have a protruding tip at the apex.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, `Red Glen` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,193), by producing nectarines that are large sized, clingstone, very firm, and full red in skin color, but is very distinguished by producing fruit that is white flesh instead of yellow flesh and that is subacidic in flavor instead of acidic.